Rapp, 84 Other House Members Submit Legislative Comments Raising Serious Concerns Regarding the Department of Health’s Communicable Disease Regulations

September 21, 2026

HARRISBURG — Rep. Kathy L. Rapp (R-Warren/Crawford/Forest), Republican chair of the House Health Committee, announced the submission of formal legislative comments from 85 members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) outlining grave concerns regarding the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s massive 502-page proposed rewrite of the Chapter 27 regulations (Rulemaking #10-242/IRRC #3490), which govern communicable and noncommunicable diseases.

According to Rapp, the proposed regulatory package represents an unprecedented expansion of bureaucratic control, threatening the constitutional liberties, medical privacy, and parental rights of citizens across the Commonwealth. In a formal filing ahead of the Sept. 21 public comment deadline, House members are calling on the department to withdraw the regulatory package.

“We cannot trade constitutional protections and personal liberty for the heavy hand of government oversight into many facets of our lives,” said Rapp. “Pennsylvanians lived through severe government overreach and mandated shutdowns during the COVID pandemic. The overreach was so pervasive that the voters amended our state Constitution to ensure that there is more oversight on executive authority during disaster declarations. These proposed regulations bypass the legislative process to hand broad, unchecked authority to unelected bureaucrats. Policy changes of this magnitude belong in the General Assembly, not buried in a 502-page agency package.”

The formal comment letter highlights several alarming provisions within the proposed Chapter 27 overhaul, including:
• Erosion of Medical Privacy: Broadly expanding mandatory vaccine reporting and allowing increased access to private medical records.
• School and Parental Intrusion: Granting health officials authority to enter school buildings and interview minor students privately for disease-control investigations without clear parental knowledge or consent.
• Private Residences: Granting the ability to enter private residences for disease control investigations while remaining silent about whether a search warrant is required prior to entering a residence.
• Overextended Enforcement Protocols: Expanding protocols for contact tracing, isolation, and quarantine, while raising concerns over unilateral executive powers to re-impose mask mandates or other coercive measures.
• Bypassing the Legislature: Attempting to permanently establish sweeping public health powers through the regulatory process rather than through open legislative debate.

Under Pennsylvania law, IRRC is charged with reviewing proposed regulations to ensure they are in the public interest and do not exceed statutory authority. With the closure of the public comment period, IRRC will review all filed comments and submit its own comments to the department.

“With over 4,000 comments submitted by the public, which are overwhelmingly against the proposal, the department should withdraw this regulatory package and engage with the General Assembly before it submits new proposed regulations. I will continue to fight to ensure that our personal freedoms are never subordinated to bureaucratic overreach.” said Rapp.

Representative Kathy Rapp
65th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Jake Gillespie
717.772.9834
jgillespie@pahousegop.com
https://www.facebook.com/RepRapp